Anti-reverse mechanisms for fishing reels are well known in the art. Typically, a pivoted pawl of such mechanism is positioned relative to a pinion gear in response to rotation of a center shaft of the reel which mounts the pinion gear. This type of structure severely limits assembly techniques and any discrepancies in manufacturing of associated parts causes tight spots as the crank handle of the reel is turned. Such tight spots result in resistance to rotation of the crankshaft of the reel which drives the center shaft and with the recent trend toward higher gear ratios the effect is greatly accentuated.